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Spend this holiday season with your family having fun in the outdoors, making homemade crafts, and trying new, delicious recipes! These activities are a nice way to spend quality time with your family connecting and making great memories. You might even discover new family holiday traditions! Lafayette Reservoir Ornament Tree One fun option for a great holiday activity for your family is going to see the beautiful Ornament Tree at the Lafayette Reservoir! This local tradition has been going on for over two decades where visitors are encouraged to bring an ornament to put on one of these ..read more

The Season of Gratitude The holiday season is a special time of year filled with family, friendship, laughter, and fun. It is also a great opportunity to think about and share what we are truly grateful for this year. The act of sharing what we are grateful for can be very impactful on our children and an important practice for them to learn. Thanksgiving can be the perfect time for families to start a new holiday tradition focused on the importance of being grateful. Read more about the Season of Gratitude Gratitude Activities for Families Gratitude is an important life skill ..read more

  Hot weather days at Roughing It are called, Beat The Heat days. On the high temperature days, camp schedules and activities may be modified to provide campers and staff additional time to rest, recover and have water breaks in the shade. This may include:  Planning more active activities in the earlier part of the day before it gets too hot.  Moving activities in the shade and planning quieter, less active activities for the PM. Taking lots of water breaks.  Having popsicles at Closing Circle (a camper favorite)    Here are tips for helping prepare ..read more

  The holidays are a great opportunity to spend quality time with family! Here are some of our favorite holiday activities found locally at the Lafayette Reservoir or doable from your home!  Outdoor Holiday Activities     Lafayette Reservoir Ornament Tree Come see the beautiful Ornament Tree at the Lafayette Reservoir!  This local tradition happening for over 2 decades encourages visitors to bring an ornament to the reservoir (Find bird friendly ideas in our Crafts section below). Then to add it to the tree as they walk the 2.7 mile Reservoir trail! If facing th ..read more

Cooking outdoors over an open fire is a camper favorite during the summer. However many of our cooking techniques can also be done in home ovens and the recipes are great all year long. Our Dutch Oven Apple Crisp is one we especially love to share during at Thanksgiving. Fall is apple season and  there are a number of varietals to choose from. At camp we use Dutch ovens fitted with feet, lids with a rim and a wire handle but there are several different types of Dutch ovens for home and outdoor use. Dutch ovens are versatile and durable and can be used for frying, roasting and baking ..read more

Gratitude is an such important life skill to practice with our children especially during challenging times.  This is something we do at camp with kids of all ages. While practicing and teaching gratitude can be done all year long, this season offers many opportunities to get creative in those efforts. It is important for kids to take the time to reflect on the things and people they are appreciative of. Gus, the camp dog, has a fun gratitude activity that he likes to do. It’s called G.L.A.D, and you can share something you’re grateful for every day, just like Gus. Here are a few other ..read more

  Fall is a fantastic time for family hiking and enjoying the outdoors in the Bay Area. There are great hikes for kids that provide plenty of opportunities to see the splendors of the season and spectacular trees in full array of autumn colors.   The Lafayette Reservoir can be a beautiful spot for walks and hikes for the whole family! As of September 2020, the trials and parking lot are open with some COVID-19 restrictions – see more park info here. There are a few different trails available at the Reservoir:     Lower Lake Trail: (about 1 hr – takes K Group about 2 ..read more

Spring has sprung and the weather has been getting warmer, it’s a great time to get unplugged and take advantage of all the parks and trails the Bay Area has to offer.   Did you know that hiking can also help your brain? The article “Doctors Tell Us How Hiking Can Change Our Brain” discusses how hiking and spending time in nature can help improve focus, memory and cognitive ability.  According to the article, “Not only does exercise improve cognitive ability and possibly prevent cognitive decline as shown by the study, it can also reduce stress and anxiety, boost self-esteem, and ..read more

Being cooped up in the house all day can make anyone stir crazy, so it’s really great and beneficial to spend some quality time with your family! Here are lots of fun things for your kids and family to do together at home or outdoors that are perfect for spending these days out of school. We know this may be a challenging time for kids and families. We are here to help! So, take a break from school and work and check out these ideas for activities that get everyone unplugged, active, and outdoors!   Outdoor Fun: Spending time outdoors can help relieve stress and restlessness from being i ..read more